SAFARILINK SIGNS DEAL WITH JOVAGO.COM
(Posted 26th March 2015)
The advance of e-Commerce across Eastern Africa has made great strides in recent years and in fact accelerated of late after safe payment platforms were introduced helping to curb fraudulent practices.
The latest major cooperation deal was signed yesterday when Safarilink and Jovago.com, Africa’s largest hotel booking platform, agreed to give the passengers of Kenya’s premier safari airline access to hotel bookings without having to leave the Safarilink website.
The two companies issued a brief statement after the deal was sealed in which they said:
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Jovago’s new Partnership with Safarilink – Kenya’s premier air service enables customers to access online hotel booking options at the time of their flight booking thus enabling them to synchronize both flight and accommodation needs with ease.
Africa’s leading online hotel booking platform, Jovago has signed a white label partnership with Safarilink- Kenya’s Premier safari airline. This will ensure easy access of hotels by travelers booking flights on flysafarilink.com without having to exit the carrier’s website.
This new partnership is in line with the national efforts in promoting local tourism as tourists can now book both their locally destined flights and accommodation on the same website. Safarilink offers a network of domestic services to Kenya’s best tourist destinations including Amboseli, Masai Mara, Samburu, Diani, Lewa Downs, Naivasha, Nanyuki and Lamu, while also connecting to northern Tanzania. The platform, Jovago.comfeatures over 1500 hotels in Kenya, making it convenient and economical for travelers visiting the website to match their flight schedule with preferred accommodation.
Commenting on the partnership, John Buckley the CEO for Safarilink said, ‘We recognize the demands of the more discerning traveler who prefers to be in control of their booking choices, and with the large amount of content available on the internet, we are keen on providing our customers with increased options of services and not just flights. By partnering with Jovago, we are offering our customers the choice of several hotels on the same website’.
As the official partners of Safarilink, Estelle Verdier the Managing Director of Jovago East and Southern Africa is delighted in the fact that the company takes pride in devising products and services that support the growth of tourism in Kenya. A recent study by United Nations World Tourism Organization indicated that about 60% of Travel and Tourism is now taking place online, she noted adding that ‘more than ever, travelers are looking for convenience; they want to be able to search and book flights and accommodation all at a single click, thus avoid any last minute hassle that could interfere with their trip, be it for business or leisure’.
In addition to the scheduled flights, Safarilink also provides chartered flights to customers who may require such services.
As Kenya and the entire Africa embraces the digital migration and the new wave of e-Commerce, creating services that answer to specific customer needs will go a long way in bolstering the growth of new and emerging markets.
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It was also learned that Safarilink will, following the lifting of sanctions by the Tanzania CAA against the Kenya CAA over BASA disputes, in due course commence flights from Wilson Airport Nairobi to Mwanza, Tanzania’s second largest city located on the shores of Lake Victoria. Watch this space to learn firsthand when this will happen.
